Kennedy Space Center held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday to kick off construction for a $100 million, 65,000 square-foot exhibit featuring retired shuttle orbiter Atlantis.

Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll and the last astronaut to command a shuttle mission, Chris Ferguson attended the event.

Ferguson said while he misses being up in space, he’s excited how much the shuttle have to offer KSC.

“This was the first chance that a person will ever have to stand next to something that has been in space, perhaps other than a meteorite,” Ferguson said.

Kennedy Space Center and visitor complex operator Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts conducted the ceremonial groundbreaking in the shuttle plaza area of the complex.

Jeremy Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Delaware North, who also owns the Boston Bruins hockey team, brought the Stanley Cup, the NHL championship trophy, with him to the Visitor Complex.

Visitor Complex officials describe the exhibit for Atlantis as a huge element of the facility’s 10-year master plan designed to attract more tourists to the site, which is Brevard County’s most popular paid attraction.

The exhibit is designed to tell the story of the shuttle program, while providing an up-close look at Atlantis, which carried out the final shuttle mission in July.

“Where she once expanded man's knowledge in space, now she will expand our knowledge here on earth,” said KSC deputy director Janet Petro.

Atlantis could head to the Visitor Complex in November, and the exhibit is scheduled to open in the summer of 2013. Space shuttle Discovery will head to the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. and Endeavour will be on display at the California Science Center.